After ‘beef eater’ jibe, Kunki Chowdhury’s mother mulls Re 1 defamation suit against Assam CM

Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, mother of Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) leader Kunki Chowdhury, on May 12 said she would file a defamation suit of Re 1 against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over what she described as “false allegations” made against her during the Assembly election campaign.

She also sought a public apology from Sarma, who was sworn in earlier in the day for a second consecutive term as chief minister. The BJP and the chief minister had not issued any response till the filing of this report.

In an open letter posted on X, Sujata identified herself as a “common woman whose name you repeatedly uttered during your election stint”. She accused the BJP leader of making remarks with “malafide intention”, alleging that the statements led to her public humiliation and put her family at risk.

“Hon’ble CM Sirjee, it may be noted that your defamation suit will be for an amount of Rs 1.00 (Rupee one only) along with a public apology from you,” she wrote, though she did not specify when the case would be filed.

Sujata alleged that Sarma branded her a “beef eater”, “non-sanatani” and “anti-India communist” without knowing anything about her personal life, religion or beliefs.

“Without knowing anything about me or my life, my food habits, my culture, my religion, my ideology or perhaps even me as a person, you called me a ‘beef eater’, a non-sanatani, an anti-India communist,” she said in the letter.

According to her, the remarks were made to build an election narrative and politically target her daughter, who contested the Assam Assembly elections from the Guwahati Central constituency as an opposition alliance candidate.

Kunki Chowdhury, a first-time contestant, lost the seat to BJP candidate Vijay Kumar Gupta, who had also made his electoral debut.

Sujata said she had initially avoided responding publicly because engaging “before a political hound does not make any sense”. However, she added that Sarma, as an elected representative, was now “answerable to me and to the public”.

While congratulating the chief minister on his victory, she asserted that citizens have the constitutional right to choose their religion, culture, food habits and ideology.

“You may have won the election, but my battle will go on as long as the common man like me keeps breathing,” she said.

The 56-year-old also claimed that photographs of her minor children were circulated publicly during the controversy, which she said had endangered their safety.

“I have not only been defamed in public, but the photograph of my minor children being released in public domains has endangered their lives,” she alleged, signing off the letter as a “Hindu by birth and culture and not by politics”.

Earlier, Sujata had approached the National Commission for Women after polling on April 9, accusing Sarma of making “false, baseless and malicious” statements during the campaign.

In her April 11 complaint to the commission, she alleged that the remarks were intended to “defame” her and politically damage her daughter’s campaign, while also accusing the chief minister of spreading “fake propaganda” to influence voters.